Good morning! Happy Sunday. ⛪ Nice morning and so far the black flies aren’t out in mass yet. 🐜 Four weeks to Fathers Day 👨 . Mostly sunny and 51 degrees in Speculator, NY. Light breeze from the west.

Yesterday I did a 3 mile hike along a bunch of dirt roads at Spectulator Tree Farm. 🌲I plan to upload those photos from my other camera 📸 later on probably after also hiking Watch Hill today. Lots of birds and wildlife and some nice quiet views. 🐦 I liked hiking for hours without seeing anyone, the breeze kept the black flies away 🐜 and the mix of timberland and woods meant there was much to see. Came back to camp, made up a big bowl of macaroni and cheese 🧀 with corn 🌽 and ham. Good dinner after a nice day, had a fire 🔥 and watched the stars ✨. Got a bit sunburnt and are a bit achy last night 🤕 but I figure that’s just summer coming on or skin cancer.

Today will have a slight chance of showers between noon and 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. ⚡ Mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 65 degrees at 1pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 28th. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 73 degrees. The record high of 89 was set in 1991.

My plan is to get a fairly early start – after my breakfast of eggs and coffee ☕ take down camp and head into town for ice. I haven’t turned my truck on since Thursday evening 🔋 but I know the starting battery is fully charged as the solar has done well, especially yesterday with the bright 🔆 sunshine.

I want to do a hike up Watch Hill 🚶🏻 before the thunderstorms ⛈ hit later. I don’t want tbe to be hiking in a thunderstorm especially with my quite worn boots 👢 that no longer have good traction in the rain. I’m going to order a new pair on Monday along with some jeans 👖. I need more clothes now that starting next week I’ll be working downtown a few days a week.

I thought about other hikes 🗻 but I like Watch Hill and I’m not expecting too many crowds off season but it should be pretty with everything greening up nicely. Easy hike, I should be off it by afternoon when the thunderstorms roll in. I like sitting down by the lake. 🐦 I’ll keep my eyes out for birds and wildlife.

Then camp off by Mason Lake tonight ⛺ and head back to town to work in Spectulator in the morning and head home thereafter. Technically, I don’t have to be in the office until Wednesday but I want a day home to unpack 💼 and plus I would rather do the Zoom Meetings from the library Wi-Fi than my phone 📱 as it looks bad to be zooming from camp when other colleagues are in the downtown office. Hybrid for now. It will be nice to see some of my colleagues in the office, 🏢 especially the ones I’ve Zoomed with mostly lately.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 65.7° from the due south horizon (-4.3° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:35 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (291°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (298°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:17 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 19 seconds with dusk around 8:49 pm, which is one minute and 4 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter 🌓 Moon in the west (266°) at an altitude of 41° from the horizon, 244,296 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:32 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 57 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Today will have 14 hours and 45 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 6 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm, then a slight chance of showers between 7pm and 9pm. Partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 43 degrees at 5am. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around May 2nd. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 54 degrees. The record low of 30 occurred back in 1959.

Should be a decent evening. 🌃 I could stay until Tuesday but I think Monday night makes the most sense. Work from my actual apartment on Tuesday and get my suit ready for Wednesday. 👨🏻‍🏫 The good thing had to end with the pandemic ending and I kind of look forward to my own time on the bus 🚍. Plus it gets hot especially working from home without air conditioning. I’m just glad that the vaccine is so effective 💉 and they repaired Piseco-Powley Road, 🏊🏻‍♂️ meaning easy trips to the Potholers and the Mine Kill Pool will be open once again.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Fathers Day 👨 when the sun will be setting at 8:39 pm with dusk at 9:14 pm. On that day in 2020, we had a pretty cool but partly sunny day with temperatures between 66 and 46 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 79 degrees. We hit a record high of 94 back in 1892.

Good morning! Happy Saturday. It’s the weekend! No work today for me. ☺ Five weeks to Average High is 80 🏖 . Mostly sunny and 50 degrees in Speculator, NY. There is a west breeze at 6 mph. 🍃.

I checked and it looks like Mason Lake Road is open 👌🏻 but after checking the ice and thinking about it some more I decided to camp one more day off NY 8B and then head up on Sunday when more camping options are open. 🚶🏻 I’m thinking I’ll hike Watch Hill on Sunday and today I want to do some birding 🐦 on Upper Robb Creek Road based on a friend’s recommendation.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 68 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 6th. West wind 6 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 93 was set in 1900.

Should be a real nice day, but I’m hoping for a breeze 🍃 to keep the black flies in check. 🐜 Yesterday wasn’t so bad as there was a a steady breeze for most of the day. Of course I wasn’t happy that the wind blew the tent away 🎪, sending no only the tent 100 ft up and away but also smashing my new lantern 🏮 and ripping out all the tent stakes. Fortunately the screen tent wasn’t damaged. It happened so quickly while I was working on my laptop 🖥 doing work from the hammock. We got this pop up rain shower ☔ and it wasn’t a big deal except for a crazy strong gust after the storm ended. I have the plugged lantern which I will part out for repairs when I get home. 🏡

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 65.4° from the due south horizon (-4.5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.7 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:35 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (291°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (298°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:16 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 19 seconds with dusk around 8:48 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west (276°) at an altitude of 33° from the horizon, 246,877 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:31 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 59 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 43 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 9 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy 🌃, with a low of 39 degrees at 5am. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 21st. West wind 3 to 6 mph. In 2020, we had rain in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was somewhat humid. It got down to 55 degrees. The record low of 33 occurred back in 1980.

Looking ahead, there are 3 weeks until 8:30 PM Sunset ️⛱️ when the sun will be setting at 8:34 pm in Spectulator with dusk at 9:09 pm. On that day in 2020, we had hot and humid weather with a thunderstorm and temperatures between 85 and 71 degrees. Sticky night but what do I know I was working remote from the Adirondacks. Typically, the high temperature is 77 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1925.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Nice to be up north on a Friday, doing remote work, although it seems like the fun is coming to the end with a new CDC guidance and the desire for normalcy. 👨‍💻 Back to old ways on the bus and in the office. But for the past year, I’ve been able to spend a lot of summer up in the woods with my hotspot and phone. Two weeks to Memorial Day Weekend Starts 🏕️ . Sunny and 49 degrees in Speculator, NY. 🌞 There is a west breeze at 5 mph. 🍃.

A beautiful morning to start out the day, 😎 and with the sun and clear skies. I am going to work from the screen tent this morning and my hotspot, but will probably head in mid-day to town to get some lunch and ice cream, and the my afternoon zoom meeting I’ll do at the Spectulator Library wi-fi. Maybe sit down by the lake in the afternoon 💻 with the laptop. I got to say it’s fun while it lasted, although  it seems like there is a lot of discussion what the future is — people like remote work, and if the work is getting done, who really cares if it’s happening in a cubicle downtown or up in the wilderness. 🌲 The world of smartphones and laptops isn’t the world of 1970 any more. 📱 Things are changing.

Had a nice fire last night, 🔥 and sat out and looked at the stars for a while ✨ although I didn’t stay up super late as it was an early start yesterday, as I had to make it to Speculator by 9 AM to clock in and get started for work — although admittedly I started my day in Wells, because I was running late. Kind of a busy day at work, lot of meetings and emails, but I got to spend a little time down at Lake Pleasant with a book in the evening before heading back to camp to get things set up. 🍳 Eggs and sausage for breakfast today, it was nice to sit outside for a while before the black flies got to bad. 🐜

Today will have increasing clouds ☁, with a high of 68 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 6th. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 70 degrees. The record high of 93 was set in 1900.

I may have to be a bit careful about managing my energy resources by the end of the day 🔋 but for now things should be well charged. The important thing is having enough power for the laptop, 💻 I can live with having reduced power tonight, as tomorrow will be sunny and I’m planning to head somewhere else in the Adirondacks and the alternator can top things off so I should be good for the rest of the weekend. I want to camp somewhere tomorrow where I don’t have cell reception, so I can have some time off the grid where I’m not constantly bombarded by news and happenings. 🤫 I want to do some reading this weekend 📚 and not be constantly playing on the Facebook or TikTok.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 65.2° from the due south horizon (-4.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:34 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (290°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (297°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:15 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 18 seconds with dusk around 8:47 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (283°) at an altitude of 24° from the horizon, 249,065 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:29 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 57 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 41 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 10 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 37 degrees at 4am. 11 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 16th. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph. In 2020, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 57 degrees. The record low of 31 occurred back in 1977.

This evening I will be participating in the Zoom between John Wolcott and Don Rittner. 🎙Yes, remotely from the Adirondacks. It should be a real interesting one for sure, although I doubt I’ll be doing much of the talking. But if I have questions, all I ask them. 📹 It should be a very interesting discussion. My new phone has good service where I am camping, which is good both for this interview and remote work.

Tomorrow will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 68 degrees at 4pm. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around May 6th. West wind 5 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. The high last year was 84 degrees. The record high of 93 was set in 1900.

I haven’t totally decided where I will hike tomorrow, 🏃‍♀️ but I have some ideas, mostly around Spectulator. I wouldn’t mind a hike up Watch Hill again but I don’t think the road past Mason Lake is open yet for the summer. 😞 Otherwise, that would be a nice hike and place to camp. I thought about Hope Falls Road, but I want to stay up through Monday, that’s pretty far south if I am coming back north to work on Monday. 💭 So I don’t really know — but I want to spend much of the weekend off the grid.

Looking ahead to Sunday, scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 43 at 8pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 71 degrees.

I could head home on Sunday, but Monday looks nice enough that I should try to get one more day in working from Spectulator. 👨‍💻 It going to be back to riding the bus and big office 👨‍💼 for the second half of the week, so you got to take advantage of what you can, when you can. I’m a little bummed out that panademic is ending but I really also understand the benefits of in-person work, the social interactions and emotions conveyed at are missing over email ✉️, phone 📞 and the Zoom. 📹 At least I feel good knowing that as a vaccinated person, 💉 I won’t have to worry about getting very sick from the COVID and mask wearing isn’t required 😷 except on buses, stores, and common places — mainly because the law, not because it will make me safer. Studies are pretty clear that the COVID vaccine is safe and very protective. ⚗ My hats off to the scientists that developed it.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Memorial Day Weekend Starts 🏕️ when the sun will be setting at 8:28 pm with dusk at 9:02 pm. On that day in 2020, we had hot and humid weather that was mostly cloudy and temperatures between 83 and 68 degrees. I remember it well, I was working in Spectulator. Typically, the high temperature is 75 degrees. We hit a record high of 93 back in 2016.

I don’t anticipate going back to the Adirondacks for Memorial Day Weekend ⛺ this year as I expect to be fairly busy with work and the bugs are bad and things are crowded. Maybe next weekend I’ll do Madison County or maybe that will wait until June. I thought about the Green Mountains but I’d have to camp where I have good reception 📶. I’ll have to think about it more. 

 

Good morning! Happy Thursday. Six weeks to Strawberry Moon 🍓🍓🍓🌕 . Those wild strawberries, the Juneberries are good. As are the ones from the farm markets in the Schoharie Valley. Mostly sunny and 55 degrees in Speculator, NY. There is a north-northwest breeze at 7 mph. 🍃. An early start, although not so early that I did hit some traffic around Schenectady and Amsterdam, but I made it up to Wells by 9 AM to check into work, and then Spectulator by mid-morning to work on the Wi-Fi up here. 📶 I was supposed to leave by 7 AM, but somehow at the end, things got slowed up and I didn’t get on the road until closer to 7:20 which meant more cars and school buses 🎒 to deal with.

This is the last Thursday I’ll be doing remote work, so I figure I should maximize it while I can. 👨‍💻 Next week starts 50% staff plus ramping up close to full-time in office come summer, although people still want some flexibility, and not sure if it always makes sense to do in-person when there isn’t meetings or trainings. Remote work is fun, especially when your out of town, but it’s still work — meaning I’m still fielding calls, writing emails and working on the laptop. But I do look forward to seeing my co-workers more in the office, and the benefits of face-to-face contact 👩‍💼 👨‍💼 that is rather lost off the Internet. 😷 It seems like masks will be the normal for a while on the bus and around the water cooler, but I really do kind of look forward things getting back closer to normal.

I am going to probably stay up north until Monday after work, 😎 but a lot depends on the weather and how I feel. I want to do some hiking and fishing on Saturday and Sunday. 🎣 I am hoping to also participate in the video call 📹 we are doing with John Wolcott and Don Rittner about the Pine Bush 🌲 on Friday night but that depends if I have cell services or not where I am camping. 📱 A lot depends on whrere I ended up.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 65 degrees at 4pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 28th. North wind around 8 mph. Probably back in Albany, it will be closer to normal. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 59 degrees. The record high of 86 was set in 2004. There was a dusting of snow in 1953.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:55 pm with sun having an altitude of 65° from the due south horizon (-5° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:33 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (290°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (297°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:14 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 17 seconds with dusk around 8:46 pm, which is one minute and 6 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west-northwest (289°) at an altitude of 15° from the horizon, 250,745 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:28 pm. At sunset, look for clear skies 🌄 and temperatures around 57 degrees. There will be a northwest breeze at 5 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 39 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 13 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be mostly clear 🌃, with a low of 39 degrees at 5am. Nine degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 21st. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph. I brought the heater as I might need it by morning to warm my hands. At least no ice or snow. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 33 degrees. The record low of 30 occurred back in 1996.

A picture perfect weekend on tap. 😎 Saturday, isolated showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. West wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Maximum dew point of 38 at 8am. Sunday, a chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 43 at 8pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 71 degrees.

It should be nice up north, about what you would expect for this time of year. 😎 Not too warm, fairly typical. Maybe some thunderstorms, but that’s expected this time of year. I want to do some hiking and laying back in the hammock, although I admit I’ll probably be a prisoner to the screen tent 🎪 more then I want to admit when the black flies are biting around. 🐜 I am thinking hiking back to Bennett Lake or maybe Wilcox Lake or somewhere along the East Branch. Or if Mason Lake is open, maybe up that way.

One month 📅 from now will be Fathers Day 👨 when the sun will be setting at 8:39 pm with dusk at 9:15 pm. The average high temperature is 71 degrees, with a record high of 86 in 2004.